Destination: Asia
The World Hum Travel Zeitgeist
by Michael Yessis | 09.08.06 | 7:02 AM ET
Looks like we’re a little grumpy this week. Our snapshot of what’s on the minds of travelers and armchair travelers reveals we’re concerned about “Ugly Americans,” bad-mannered Chinese and our poor service on American Airlines. What will get us out of this funk? Perhaps 36 hours in Grand Rapids, Michigan? Here’s your zeitgeist.
Most Viewed Weblog Post
World Hum (this week)
* Rethinking the Ugly American
No. 1 World Music Album
iTunes (current)
* The Life Aquatic by Seu George
Most Complained About U.S. Airline
Air Travel Consumer Report (June 2006)
* American Airlines
Most Popular Site Tagged “Travel”
del.icio.us (recent)
* Kayak
Best Selling Travel Book
Amazon.com (current)
* Rory Stewart’s The Places in Between
Most E-Mailed Travel Story
USA Today (current)
* Chinese travelers’ bad manners earn a chilly reception
Most Viewed Dispatch
World Hum (this week)
* Tony Perottet’s The Joy of Steam
Most Viewed “Travel & Places” Video
YouTube (this week)
* U-StampIt Productions: “This is a sample video for three co-hosts and their upcoming show on Italy”
Most Viewed Weblog Country Category
World Hum Weblog (this week)
* China
Most E-Mailed Travel Story
New York Times (current)
* 36 Hours: Grand Rapids, Mich.
The Google “I’m Feeling Lucky” Button Travel Zeitgeist Search
* “What I did on my summer vacation”
And, finally, a tribute to the Crocodile Hunter
* In honor of Steve Irwin and International Khaki Day, we’ll be flying the khaki today. R.I.P. Crocodile Hunter.
Got something that deserves to be included in next week’s World Hum Zeitgeist? .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Email to friend
del.icio.us
Digg
Facebook
Furl
Ma.gnolia
Mixx
Reddit
StumbleUpon
Yahoo! BuzzChinese Government to its Traveling Citizens: No Spitting!
by Michael Yessis | 09.08.06 | 5:52 AM ET
There’s been a lot of coverage about the rise in Chinese tourists. And much of it centers on their bad manners, though the Chinese do have at least one high-profile defender. Now, to help its citizens make a better impression around the world, the Chinese government is producing an etiquette guide for its citizens traveling abroad. Among the tips: don’t spit, don’t litter and don’t speak loudly in public.
Are Burma’s Ruins the Next Disney World?
by Terry Ward | 09.07.06 | 8:58 PM ET
Burma (or Myanmar) has long been on my list of dream destinations. And urgings from fellow travelers to get there sooner rather than later are resonating all the louder after reading a frightening yet fascinating piece in today’s Los Angeles Times. In a country notoriously corrupt and cut off from the rest of the world, some of the greatest ruins on the planet—the temple complex at the ancient city of Bagan—are at serious risk of turning into a “temple theme park,” writes Richard C. Paddock. And this is no mousy attempt at attracting tourists.
New China-Tibet Train Derails
by Jim Benning | 08.31.06 | 3:31 PM ET
Reports Reuters via the New York Times: “One of China’s new trains to Tibet, the world’s highest railway, derailed, disrupting the line for five hours and delaying thousands of passengers, state news media said. No one was injured. Malfunctioning signal and switching equipment was said to be the cause. It was the first mishap on the rail system, which reaches altitudes of 16,400 feet above sea level, since it began operating July 1.” Also, earlier this month, a 77-year-old tourist from Hong Kong died of altitude sickness while aboard the train.
China, Taiwan to Officially Discuss Opening Island to Mainland Tourists
by Michael Yessis | 08.30.06 | 2:09 PM ET
After years of back-channel talks, China and Taiwan will officially sit down this September to discuss removing the ban on travel from the Chinese mainland to the Island, according to an Asia Times story by Ting-I Tsai. The potential talks come after China’s founding of the Cross-Strait Tourism Association, and Taiwan’s development of the Taiwan Strait Traveling and Tourism Association, two ostensibly private organizations created to handle the negotiations. China, a rising tourist power, currently allows its citizens to travel to just 81 countries, according to the Times.
The Travels of Jiang Zemin
by Michael Yessis | 08.22.06 | 7:39 AM ET
Former Chinese president Jiang Zemin visited more than 70 countries during his 13-year rule, and he apparently chronicles a great deal of those trips in a 654-page travel book that came out recently. The book is called “For a Better World: Jiang Zemin’s Overseas Visits,” and according to an AP story, it’s more about Jiang’s “desire…to be remembered as the leader who presided over China’s rise to unprecedented importance in trade and global affairs” than his desire to be the next J. Maarten Troost. Via Gadling.
John Burdett on Thailand, Sex and ‘The Quiet Farang’
by Michael Yessis | 08.19.06 | 2:00 PM ET
The arrest of John Mark Karr in Bangkok for allegedly murdering JonBenet Ramsey almost 10 years ago has put Thailand’s reputation for sex tourism and as a haven for western drifters, or farang kee-nok, in the spotlight of American media. In an opinion piece in today’s New York Times, John Burdett, author of the crime novel Bangkok Tattoo, weighs in on why Thailand has, in the words of one Bangkok teacher he spoke to, become the place where farang go after they kill or rape somebody in their own country.
Uncommon Ground
by Sarah Stuteville | 08.17.06 | 12:18 PM ET
Photograph by Alex Stonehill After covering rarely reported stories in harrowing corners of the world, Sarah Stuteville thought little could scare her. Then, in a small Pashtun village in Pakistan, she had to face a fear she didn't know she had.
Moscow vs. Lonely Planet
by Michael Yessis | 08.10.06 | 4:08 PM ET
Politics, business and travel often intertwine. Take, for example, Lonely Planet. Recently, the guidebook giant has lobbied the United States Congress to support a National Passport Month. In 2002, Hong Kong took issue with Lonely Planet’s guidebook coverage. In 2004, Burma Campaign UK called for a boycott of the guidebook giant simply for publishing a book about the country. Now it’s Moscow’s turn to take some shots at LP. From a story by Tom Parfitt in the Guardian: “Moscow officials have launched an attack on Lonely Planet, saying the backpackers’ guide portrays the Russian capital as a gangster-infested Gotham and presents an image of the city that is at least 15 years out of date.”
Mumbai vs. Bombay: “Will Bollywood become Mumblywood?”
by Michael Yessis | 08.09.06 | 11:53 AM ET
“On Language” columnist William Safire is the latest to dig into why and how places around the world change their names. He covers the big recent switches—Bombay to Mumbai, Burma to Myanmar, Upper Volta to Burkina Faso—most of which have been inspired by efforts to eliminate remnants of their colonial past. But Safire also looks at another interesting part of the name-change game: The product angle.
Xeni Jardin Hacks the Himalayas
by Michael Yessis | 08.09.06 | 6:21 AM ET
This week National Public Radio’s “Day to Day” is broadcasting Xeni Jardin’s four-part series about how Tibetans are coping with encroaching technology. Jardin traveled through Tibet, India and China, and her reports explore “how Western ‘hackers’ are building low-cost communications networks to bring phone and Web service to displaced Tibetan refugees—and how native peoples are trying to hold onto their culture in an interconnected world.” Jardin has supplemented her stories with photos and audio on the NPR Web site, and extra commentary and video on her personal page.
Japanese Theme Parks Offer an “Abridged Grand Tour For the Fast-Food Generation”
by Michael Yessis | 08.04.06 | 3:02 AM ET
One of the highlights of a trip I took to Japan a few years ago was a visit to Spa World, an eight-story resort located in the Shin-Sekai section of Osaka that aims to transport its visitors to far-off countries and continents and, sometimes, back through time via re-creations of spa and bathing experiences from around the globe. Like the smiling mechanical crabs I saw hanging on restaurant walls and the “Three Minutes Happiness” store I visited, I chalked it up as just another piece of Japanese kitsch. Earlier this week, though, the New York Times added some perspective with an interesting story about the country’s penchant for building meticulous theme-park re-creations of other countries, including the Netherlands, Spain and Italy. “These parks, some of which cost as much as $2.5 billion to build, are by and large a product of Japan’s ‘bubble economy’ of the 1980’s, a response to the newfound interest in travel that was spawned during this period of frenzied economic growth,” writes Katie Kitamura. “Many opened shortly after the 1990 crash of the Japanese economy.”
Around the Globe with No Clothes On
by Michael Yessis | 08.01.06 | 9:40 PM ET
Michael Yessis visited seven countries in less than three hours -- all without a swimsuit -- at Spa World, Japan's kitschiest, most worldly spa.
Reading Rushdie in India
by James Mutti | 07.23.06 | 10:11 PM ET
He carried a Rough Guide on the subcontinent, but James Mutti also devoured "Midnight's Children," Premchand's "Godaan" and other classic works of Indian literature. Those readings, he later realized, influenced his experience of India.
Why Should You Give Care’?
by Jim Benning | 07.20.06 | 4:51 PM ET
Needless to say, after spotting this sign during my visit to Beijing, I gave tons of care.
Photo by Jim Benning.